Chapter 3

EIRWYN LOOKED UP ATthe giant man on the giant horse and blinked as the late summer sun filtered through the leaves. They hit his head to form a halo of light around him, but with the way his hood was pulled up, she could only barely see his faintly glowing green eyes and the angular features.

His big frame caused his green shirt to bulge, the vee with the leather drawstring revealing a tuft of brown hair. Her fingers itched to touch him, and she waved her hand in a circular motion.

A small gust of wind pushed his cloak back, and she eyed the rest of him. Gods, his thighs were as thick as tree trunks. The only drawback on this man was how dirty his boots and pants were. She wasn"t a fan of dirt.

The magic faded, as she wavered on her feet. She must be more exhausted from the carriage accident than she"d thought. She just hoped she hadn"t used too much magic. It was a good sign that she could still stand and talk though, so she"d probably be alright.

When the carriage had hit the tree, she"d used her air and illusion magic to form a type of bubble around them until they stopped moving. Her heart had raced but not really with fear.

It had raced with excitement and magic flowing through her veins. She"d never formed a physical bubble before. All her projections were always just made of light.

If only her fussy old magic teachers could see her now. She was soaking up every moment of this adventure and was slightly glad it wasn"t over yet.

But now her heart raced with something more. She reached for his hand, then pulled back as she remembered.

"Oh, our bags. Let me put these with Helga, that way your poor horse won"t be overburdened even more."

She almost jogged over to Helga, but stumbled as she reached her. She tucked the two shoulder bags around her to form a type of barrier to keep her from rolling off the litter. Then she turned back to the man.

He looked so mysterious in his dark green cloak with the hood pulled up. He stared at her with such an intensity it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She was used to people staring at her. She was the princess and her brother often paraded her out at court and at balls. And even when she went to the tavern to sneak out for a fun time, she was used to all eyes on her as she told shadow stories and entertained the people.

But the way he looked at her made her feel alive with desire on a level she"d never experienced before. And she was plenty experienced.

Hells, she"d even tried to seduce the prince of Glathen in order to negotiate the treaty. Ultimately, the Counsellor that had gone with them had shot down any chance of the treaty going into effect.

"Princess?" The stranger asked with his deep voice that felt like a caress on her skin. "I think you should ride in front, so I can more easily protect you from the forest."

She blinked and realized she"d been caught staring at him, daydreaming yet again. She smiled and blushed, then she took his hand. A jolt of lightning shot up her arm, making her gasp up at him. His eyebrows rose in surprise. Did he feel it too?

Her hair began to stand on end, and she struggled to control her magic even as she stepped into the stirrup and climbed in front of him.

She sat side-saddle and wiggled to hook her knee around the pommel. She was the princess, for drake"s sake. She needed to stop being a klutz, control her magic, and act like it.

Ugh, she was making such a bad first impression with this guy. She held herself stiffly as he turned the horse to follow Scarlet through the forest.

"This is awkward, isn"t it? I bet you don"t rescue a lot of princesses in the forest like this."

His voice brushed the hair near her ear as he said, "No, you"re the first. But you can ride astride if it"ll make you more comfortable."

She grinned and shifted, swinging her leg over the horse and exposing her calves. "Wonderful. I love riding astride!"

He made a strangled noise, then he cleared it. "You"ve ridden astride before?"

She nodded, smoothing down her skirts and trying to brush off the dirt. "When I race my horse. Can"t do that side-saddle, of course."

"You race your horse?"

She nodded and shifted on the saddle, feeling his knife digging into her rear. "Yes, she"s really fast and light-footed. Not like this guy. He"s a brute. What"s his name?"

"Ryder."

"That"s a good name. Nice to meet you, Ryder," Eirwyn leaned over and pet the mane of the brown horse. Then she frowned and turned back to face him, their noses barely inches away as she stared up at him.

"And what"s your name?" Damn, was that really her voice so soft and breathless? He was going to think she was a ninny, flirting like that.

His eyes widened, and he jerked away from her, turning his head and staring at her from the side of his eyes. "Don"t get too close. Turn around."

Her jaw dropped at the command, and her back stiffened. She pointed a finger at him, which was awkward with how she was half-turned in the saddle to better see his features up close.

He had a strong, straight nose that was covered in freckles. She blinked, surprised by all the freckles. Even his forehead had freckles. His chin was covered in a five o"clock shadow of brown hair.

Those green eyes though... they were more beautiful than emeralds. There was something about them that drew her in, and she tried to lean closer.

Then he eased his hold on the reins, grabbed her hips, and scowled as he leaned further away from her.

"By the gods, stop wiggling, Princess."

Her eyes widened as she realized. "Light, that"s not your knife, is it?"

His lips thinned as he glared at her. "No, it"s not, and if you"d stop wiggling, I"d appreciate it."

She wiggled more, her grin growing. "But this feels so nice. My, that"s quite a large knife you have, isn"t it. Does it cut well?"

He blinked at her, frowning. She tilted her head and waited. Any other man would"ve been flirting right back at her, but not this guy. Why not? He obviously liked the feel of her ass riding against his dick.

He glared at her as Scarlet looked over her shoulder and laughed.

"He wouldn"t know," Scarlet said with a grin.

Eirwyn"s brows rose, turning to face Scarlet. "Wait, what does that mean?"

The man"s growl behind her had her on full-alert as she stiffened in front of him. Scarlet just shrugged and turned back to leading them down the road.

"I still don"t know your name," she pointed out, staring straight ahead as they rode. Eirwyn watched Helga to make sure she didn"t fall off.

"Knox, the lumberjack." His breath tickled the back of her ear again, sending a shiver down her body.

"Knox," she whispered, leaning back against him a little. He gathered the reins, cocooning her in between his big arms.

She could feel the heat of him, but he was a standoffish man whom she was determined to become friends with. She was friends with everyone, by the light. It was anathema to think she couldn"t win him over.

He wasn"t her brother, after all.

She cleared her throat, determined to get to know him. "Knox, it"s nice to meet you. You can call me Eirwyn."

"Princess is fine with me," he said.

She shook her head. "That won"t do. When you take me into town, I will hail your name as the greatest guide and protector the forest has ever seen."

"You could"ve gone back to town with your guards and driver and carriage, if you"d paid the toll to the Robins like the Lone Road demands."

She frowned and stiffened, leaning forward and trying to put distance between the comforting warmth of his embrace.

"I did pay the Robins. There were three of them at the tavern in the little village just outside the forest, the one in Glathen. I paid them well for protection. They said we wouldn"t see them, but they"d be watching and guarding just the same."

He snorted, careful to turn his head away from her as he did so. "You were swindled, princess."

She frowned and looked up at the trees as her mind began to grow fuzzy. "Perhaps you"re right. But it stands to reason there would be Robins in that village watching the entrance of the road."

He didn"t respond, and her mind wandered to the way he made her feel. She felt her skin tingle in anticipation. She loved this stage. The flirting, the build-up, the accidental caresses.

With him, it felt different, though. Like she was on the precipice of the castle about to jump off the edge and attempt to finally fly.

She was hot, frustrated, and her eyelids began to droop as they turned off the Lone Road.

She stiffened, watching and waiting for the forest to attack. But within a few yards of the road, she saw they were on a faint path. The steady pace of the horse lulled her into an exhausted sleep, and she sank against him.

When she awoke, dusk was falling around them. Her head was groggy as they came into a clearing. There was a small cottage at the base of a giant tree with a barn peeking behind it.

No one came to greet them, but Knox walked the horse to the front door. He jumped off the horse, his hands never leaving her. Even with his hands, she still swayed in the saddle.

She pulled her head up and looked around before sliding off the horse. Her mind knew she was going to hit the ground and get dirty, but she couldn"t stop herself. She felt like she was floating but being pressed down at the same time.

It was almost like being drunk. Gods, he must think she was a weakling. No wonder he wanted nothing to do with her.

Her body had entered the Edge. If she wasn"t careful, she"d fall into the Beyond and never wake. That was what happened when someone used too much magic.

Before she hit the ground, Knox" arms swooped her up. He cradled her to his chest, and her head flopped back on his arm to look up at him.

The weight of embarrassment pressed on her chest. Only an untrained mage or a child entered the Edge. It"d been years since she"d been here. Why now? Why in front of him?

Oh yeah, because they"d almost been killed in a carriage accident and eaten by the forest.

"Come on, let"s get you inside," Knox said, his deep voice almost as lulling as the horse. He strode to the front door of the cottage.

Eirwyn nuzzled into his cloak, the smell of morning dew hanging to him like a promise of adventure.

"I just need to sleep it off. I"ll be fine in the morning," she said with a yawn.

Scarlet pushed open the front door, and Knox dipped his head and turned sideways to carry her inside. He looked around, a frown line between his eyes.

The light from candles and a fire finally illuminated more of his face, and she relaxed even more in his arms. She could stare up at him for hours, if only her heavy eyelids would cooperate.

"Olive? Do you have a tonic? She"s entered the Edge."

A bustling sound came from her right, but she didn"t want to turn her head away from him. He held her like a child tucked to his chest as he walked to the fire and sat in an oversized chair, not letting her go.

She snuggled into him as he pulled his arm out from under her legs. "Sleep now. Need to recharge," she slurred with another yawn as she closed her eyes.

She could feel it. The Beyond called to her. She knew it was coming. The fast heartbeat. The shaking and dizziness. The clawing hunger that gnawed on her from the inside out.

"Shit," Knox said. "Olive?"

"Here, here," a breathless voice came closer as Eirwyn began to float away, her mind detaching as her body went limp.

A rustling sounded, then Knox reached out his hand. He brought a mug to her lips and pried them open, pouring the foul liquid inside. She began to choke, and he closed her chin, holding her mouth until she swallowed.

Then she gasped. As she exhaled, he poured more in, starting the process all over again. She gripped his shirt, her eyes flying open as the liquid burned her throat and settled in her stomach.

Warmth spread like a fireball, and her eyes connected with his, the frown marring his forehead still. His eyes searched hers as if looking for something, but her body was tense as she gripped his shirt. She whimpered at the burn.

She hated this. It brought back dark memories of her childhood, of all the tonics and potions she"d tried to get stronger. Her brother had been so disgusted with her sickly nature. He still was, if she were honest.

Tears stung her eyes, and her hands shook where they grasped his shirt.

Someone took the mug, and he smoothed the hair away from her face. "There, there. It"s alright. It"s almost over now."

His words were like a balm to her soul, and she slowly relaxed, going limp in his arms as her eyes rolled back in her head.